Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 12, 2009 10:16 pm Hello people! Am new in here and am a first home buyer who's lost among all these new estates around South Morang and need some advise and direction. Yea..been looking for a while to buy a piece of land and see the prices differ a fair bit from one estate to another. Can anybody help me to make a better decision by explaining to me which of these is a better estate and worth spending the money...........as in whats the difference between say for eg: Hawkstowe and Riversdale or woodland waters - as I've been really impressed with hawkstowe, but it seems to be premium priced compared to the other two. Also - was interested in your thoughts about which builder would be best - am not in a position to spend more than $180-200K for a house. Would appreciate direction and advise ppl......! Every advantage has a corresponding disadvantage.... Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 2Jun 12, 2009 10:23 pm What do you want from an estate? Do you want facilities? Do you want schools, child care, shops? Easy access? 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 3Jun 12, 2009 10:28 pm thanks for replying L, Im definately looking for a decent enviornment, schools will be a preference 3-4 years down the line, main interset is public transport as I work in the city. I was also looking at the angle in terms of potential differences in capital appriciation between different estates..! Every advantage has a corresponding disadvantage.... Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 4Jun 12, 2009 10:40 pm saga thanks for replying L, Im definately looking for a decent enviornment, schools will be a preference 3-4 years down the line, main interset is public transport as I work in the city. I was also looking at the angle in terms of potential differences in capital appriciation between different estates..! Well the busses all go up Plenty Road and Riverdale is going to be building a primary school in a few years, Mernda Villages has a catholic primary school and will be building a state one eventually and Laurimar has a school already Most estates have good parklands but Riverdale is near the plenty gorge as would hawkestowe. There will be a safeway built on the corner of bridge inn road and plenty road eventually but the one in laurimar opens in 2 weeks and you can get there from masons Road soon 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 5Jun 12, 2009 10:48 pm Oh gosh, Im probably going to get all my estate names confused! Woodland Waters in beautiful but most of the blocks left are on slopes and they charge a nice pricetage being next to the reserve. The sales man wasnt very nice to us either The one up from that (forgot its name!), just before Mernda Villages, was reasonably priced and did not have a timeframe to build. Good if you dont want time restrictions however it can also mean that the land could be valued less if the estate takes forever to build up Mernda Villages - good prices and will have its own little community hub - Catholic school, government school, community health centre, medical centre, childcare centre, speciality shops incl IGA etc. Its about 2km further down Plenty Rd Riverdale on Plenty is the one on the right yes? My concern was that the train crossed through the estate Hawkstowe didnt really appeal to me, doest seem very big and is quite close to power lines. They also have a hefty price tag (because its 2km closer to the city from what I believe) I would check them all out - there's probably one which will catch your eye and you will say "this is it" Take a drive through the streets and get a feeling of the atmosphere, and your potential streets. Does it have the 'feel' you're after? We choose MV. We wanted to be in an area which had all facilities close at hand, but without being in the 'cluster' of it all. I like knowing that I can walk to the future IGA for milk and wont have to get in my car. And they're planning on building a shopping centre on the corner of bridge inn rd and plenty rd too, so it will be a growth area. Good luck with your choice Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 6Jun 12, 2009 10:51 pm the price differences may be in relation to the age of the estate as each stage tends to get more expensive which may be why hawkstowe is more pricey as it has been around longer than riverdale and woodland waters.... at the end of the day it is what you want out of an estate. We chose doreen as its only 5 mins further up the road but has laurimar town centre 2 mins away and park opposite us and a proposed prep-12 school on our street! So essentially its about what you want... In regards to houses ours came in just shy of 200k so you can definately do it in your budget ours has a few luxuries... our base price was 163k 2nd build here we come in Whittlesea! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=92617 1st Build - Henley - Cooper in Doreen! (2009) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17354 Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 7Jun 12, 2009 10:56 pm Thanks guys - appreciate ur quick advise - I seem to have trippled my knowledge in 10mins now I'll do so tomorrow and go for a drive and try to soak in the 'feeel' Also - just wondering if you guys had any advise on the builders and what to look for in terms of catches when we are dealing with them [Ive read a few posts and noted a few points and PD seems the most risk-free among the lot] Thanks again for the words of wisdom ppl Every advantage has a corresponding disadvantage.... Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 8Jun 12, 2009 11:01 pm I think there's risks with any company you go. My advice would be to pick a home that you love, and could picture living in. A home, not a house Dont base it feedback, feedback is primarily subjective and then you will get caught in the politics of it all Having fun driving around! I used to do it alot Now I just drive to my block Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 10Jun 12, 2009 11:10 pm Cant wait to hear how you go tomorrow Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 11Jun 12, 2009 11:44 pm I bought in the same estate as CinNy, for the same reasons. What was great about when we bought was that it was only the second major land release, so the prices were nearly 20k cheaper than Hawkstowe and the like, yet in 2-3 years time it will be exactly the same. Also, while our estate doesn't have a huge amount of amenities, we are only 2 mins drive from Laurimar town center, and again, in a few years time when all the house have been built in the estates, its just going to be one big suburb anyway, so are not even going to know what "estate" you are in. There is no big fence seperating them all. You will get the biggest return for your money buy buying in the early releases of estates. They are a lot cheaper than later releases yet the houses are all worth the same once they have been built. You may struggle to get the land valued by the bank at what you need as they don't always take the development you are in into consideration. Built with Bentley homes in Doreen All moved in Dec 2009 Now for the garden! Our stuff so far viewtopic.php?f=31&t=16532 Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 12Jun 13, 2009 9:39 am Lostris You will get the biggest return for your money buy buying in the early releases of estates. They are a lot cheaper than later releases yet the houses are all worth the same once they have been built. This is a good point. We purchased some vacant blocks when Mill Park Lakes first opened and were able to return a ~40% profit in about 12mths. However a little while later we repeated the exercise on house and land in one of the newer releases and the growth over about a 4-5yr period was very poor in comparison. Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 13Jun 13, 2009 10:46 am Hi Saga, We have done " the great house and land search" and to say it was frustrating would be nice.... I suggest taking a drive and spend a few days going around the different estates, we even took the dog for a walk and spoke to people who had already built - great way to meet the people who could one day be your fellow neighbours and how they find the area etc. We finally chose Laurimar, hadn't planned on going out as far as Doreen but the service we received from Anastasia in the Land Sales area as well as what the estate had to offer won us. Doreen is not that much further than South Morang and the bus services have already started to go into some estates to link to train & tram services. As far as builder it varys as to what you are looking for, we decided on a custom builder as the larger builder wouldn't modify plans to meet our needs - and the service we got ( huge seller to us as we both work in customer service industries and would rather walk away from bad service than reward it with commision) was amazing - sales rep even came to the house to discuss our needs and budget etc. Happy to pass on his details if you want them - he is a South Morang local and knows the area pretty well Good luck and happy building Mel Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 14Jun 13, 2009 11:22 am My observations: Riverdale - Jennings estates in general tend to be cheaper. They're slow to get the infrastructure in place, although they seem to be getting better at it. Blocks are smaller there, and there's quite a lot of land reserved for terraced townhouses, which doesn't thrill me (those always end up being rented out and in most cases eventually become run down). Access in and out is via one road at the moment, although that will change in future - the big thing is that there's no roundabout or traffic lights, so doing a right turn onto Plenty Rd can be a bit of a drama. There's a primary school planned and some kind of corner store and/or cafe, but I have no idea what the timeframe is for that. Woodland Waters - very nice planning, lots of parkland. We gave it a miss because it was overpriced at the time, plus the sales staff weren't very interested in helping us, the day we went there seriously looking for land. Don't know much about it, because we crossed it off our list early on, thanks to that experience and didn't investigate further. Mernda Villages was our second choice - Stockland do a great job with their estates, and it's got some good facilities planned. About the only downside was the extra distance. Our kids need to get to and from secondary school by bus and my husband rides his bike to the city several times a week, so the extra kms made a huge difference to us. The two primary schools were a bit of a turn-off for us too. Our kids are older and we don't need the noise/traffic that comes along with schools being nearby. Hawkstowe has NO display homes, NO schools and nothing that's going to attract droves of rubber-neckers on weekends, so that was a plus for us. We like a quiet life. Being surrounded by hundreds of hectares of parkland that can never be built on was another selling point. I like to walk. The open spaces are well planned - although there's really only Wilton Vale Park finished at the moment, plus part of the wetlands area. There are traffic lights at Plenty Rd and there will be access through to Riverdale in the next year or two as well, and given that there are only 700-odd lots, traffic shouldn't be a drama. Some of the blocks are quite big, but there are plenty of smaller lots to choose from too. And our butcher is almost opposite, on Plenty Rd. The only minuses we could find were the powerlines and the proposed railway line, but we went out of our way to choose a block that isn't near either. There's a new bus service just started. The old 562 runs from Greensborough station, via the Ring Rd to Plenty Rd, then all the way to Humevale. The timetable is a bit haphazard for that one, but the new service is pretty good. The 572 now runs from Doreen across to Mernda, through Mernda Villages, then down Plenty Rd to McArthurs Rd (opposite Hawkstowe). It then makes its way through Mill Park Lakes to Westfield, and then through Mill Park and I think on to RMIT. Once the railway extension is done, that bus will be perfect for connecting with the train opposite Westfield. In the end it comes down to what you require. Do you have kids? How old? How big a block do you need? What services do you need within walking distance? How much can you afford to spend? Is distance/travel time an issue? And the big one: is there a block the right size and shape that faces the right way for the house you want to build? You need to find what suits you. We did and we're very happy with our choice - it wouldn't necessarily suit some other people, but for us, it's perfect. Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 15Jun 13, 2009 11:40 am Lostris ....so the prices were nearly 20k cheaper than Hawkstowe and the like, yet in 2-3 years time it will be exactly the same. ..... in a few years time when all the house have been built in the estates, its just going to be one big suburb anyway, so are not even going to know what "estate" you are in. There's an interesting point about the value of different estates. When we bought in Mill Park, a billion years ago, our block was in a "no-name" subdivision. No fancy name, no covenants at all. It was a nice enough area, and we were close to the shops, secondary school and Redleap Reserve, but far enough away that traffic wasn't an issue. We laughed at the silly prices being charged in Blossom Park and later in Rivergum, and the restrictive covenants made us raise our eyebrows. But here's a funny thing - 23 years later, property values in those estates are still way higher than in the area where we lived. If we'd been selling exactly the same house on the same-sized block on the eastern side of Plenty Rd, we'd have got $20,000-$30,000 more for it. Design guidelines are what makes the difference to the value. Most of the estates around here have covenants, but some are better than others in terms of overall design. I expect that in 20 years time, estate agents will still be advertising homes here as being situated "in the prestigious Hawkstowe estate". Oh. Also - the price of our land, whilst being a bit higher than some nearby estates, included fencing and front landscaping. So be sure to check what you're getting for your $$. Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 16Jun 13, 2009 1:25 pm kek, out of curiosity, was the salesman at Woodland Waters of Asian background at all? Just interested to see whether its the same man who wasnt quite pleasing in dealing with us both Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 17Jun 13, 2009 5:31 pm Bam kek, out of curiosity, was the salesman at Woodland Waters of Asian background at all? Just interested to see whether its the same man who wasnt quite pleasing in dealing with us both Can't remember now Bam...it was quite a while ago. The problem was that nobody would even talk to us. We were there for almost 30 minutes, waiting to talk to someone, but we obviously didn't look important enough for anyone to even bother making eye contact and saying that they'd be with us shortly. And it's not like they were swamped with customers. Funny, I was just talking to HTB about the estates in the area and what attracted us to our respective choices. Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 18Jun 13, 2009 6:58 pm Guys! dunno what to say - highly appriciate all your advise, especially the in-depth info from kek on hawkstowe - which ticks most of my boxes. I should say it has given me a lot to work with in the next few weeks Took a drive through Woodland waters and Renaissance Rise - nice estates with lots of parklands and water, in fact the consultant at Woodland waters was very accomodative and explained in detail everything, so looks like they might've addressed the staff issue:). The land prices seem to be pretty much the same as Hawkstowe, in fact the ones that are on release currently have a bit of a fall associated with it [which scared me] and it was almost touching bridge inn road. Got an appt booked with a porter davis consultant tomorrow at riversdale, and should get more clarity on the building side of things... also will need to drop into hawkstowe and ask about the driveway and fencing will keep everyone updated - and thanks again for those words of wisdom - have a good weekend people, whats left of it:D Every advantage has a corresponding disadvantage.... Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 19Jun 13, 2009 7:09 pm Not sure what, if anything, is being offered at the moment with Stockland's land deals. Wherever you consider buying, ask to see the engineering diagrams for the subdivision. Look for fill (there's lots of it around here) and if it exists on the block you want, ask for a controlled fill certificate. The developer will have it and be able to get you a copy. Then talk to the builders about site costs and try to pin them down to a fixed price. Re: Need some advise for FHB in South Morang 20Jun 14, 2009 12:27 am How about Camalda(sp?)/Carmalda(sp?) on Gordons Rd? Close to Schools,shops,transport. My 2c worth... Hawkstowe + Powerlines + Price = doesn't add up. MV is gorgeous if you are prepared to drive an extra 4 minutes. I am looking for someone who might have tackled a similar issue as me. I have a few rendered interior walls, the surface condition is hardly flat. I can see all the bumps… 0 7964 Thank you so much for the effort. We will use it to talk with builder. We also had idea of building duplex instead and seeking suggest ions. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106744 11 13833 Hi VK, I am now retired however I have stood beside over 300 owner builders in the past 18 years that have successfully built their own homes. First of all a building… 10 22668 |